Marc Lamont Hill actually believes Islam lines up with American values, saying Muslims are roundly misunderstood and even equated them to Christians.  

Speaking on CNN, Hill had been asked to comment on recent statements made by talk show host Bill Maher, who stated that Islam does not represent American values.  

HILL: Bill Maher seems to get this Islam question wrong all the time. Islam is premised on some very basic fundamental values that are in line with what America articulates as its own values — what the West articulates as its own values — questions of justice; questions of morality; questions of ethics; even questions of monotheism — and I'm not to say — that's not to say everyone has to be a monotheist — but certainly, Islam is in line with that, as well — questions of democracy and fairness. These are all things that Islam does deal with.

The question of Sharia law is much more complicated than Bill Maher would like to acknowledge. Sharia law is about — is about a range of things. It is not applied in every country in every way. So, to say that, somehow, because you have an investment in sharia law means you're somehow a radical, or that you're necessarily anti — anti-growth, anti-democracy, anti-modern — it's just not true.

When host Don Lemon asked why 56 percent of Americans believe Islam stands at odds with American values, Hill attributed their opinions to ignorance based on xenophobia, equating them to those who stood against interracial marriage and homosexual rights.